Description
Isoprenoids, also known as terpenoids, represent the largest class of natural products, comprising more than 40,000 different structures found in all kingdoms of life. Plants, in particular, are well known to harbor an impressive diversity of isoprenoids with a wide range of different ecological, physiological and structural functions, including light-harvesting pigments, hormones, phytoalexins and semiochemicals, among others. The functions of many complex plant isoprenoids, often referred to as secondary or specialized metabolites, in the natural world remain to be discovered. Likewise, the microbial realm is another rich source for isoprenoid molecules. Since ancient times, isoprenoids have been omnipresent in people’s every day lifes and utilized for their many different properties, for example as medicines, flavors, and fragrances. Isoprenoids define many of the flavor impressions of foods and beverages and may help preserve them during storage. They are key fragrance compounds in perfumes, and beyond their fragrant properties the biological activities of terpenoidrich essential oils have been used in many traditional medicines. Modern industrial exploitation of isoprenoids range from some high-value pharmaceuticals such as the anticancer drug paclitaxel (Taxol ®) to common components of personal hygiene and cosmetic products and inexpensive antimicrobial and organic solvent-like ingredients of household cleaners to commodity materials such as natural rubber. More recently, properties of terpenoids as fuels have been rediscovered and are being explored for the development of advanced biofuels.
Modern biotechnological approaches, including genomics, systems metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, along with biochemistry and chemistry, are bringing along a deeper understanding of isoprenoid biosynthesis in nature and are guiding strategies to harness this knowledge for sustainable production of isoprenoids based on renewable resources
With the compilation of chapters published in “Biotechnology of Isoprenoids” we set out to cover a rather broad spectrum of research in this field to illustrate both the fascinating diversity and the great industrial potential of these natural products. Given the diversity and manifold applications of isoprenoids, this volume could only cover selected topics while inevitably missing others. Nevertheless, we hope this volume will serve as an introduction for those readers who are new to the field of isoprenoids and may also give the expert reader an up-to-date overview of recent advances in the field. As the editors, we are grateful to so many of our highly esteemed colleagues who accepted our invitation and generously contributed to their time and expertise to this compilation of sixteen chapters.
Contents
Part I Biosynthesis and Function of Isoprenoids
Terpenoid Biosynthesis in Prokaryotes
Albert Boronat and Manuel Rodríguez-Concepción
Biosynthesis of Terpenoid Natural Products in Fungi
Claudia Schmidt-Dannert
Biosynthesis and Biological Functions of Terpenoids in Plants
Dorothea Tholl
Cytochromes P450 for Terpene Functionalisation and Metabolic Engineering
Irini Pateraki, Allison Maree Heskes and Björn Hamberger
Part II Fundamental Technologies for Metabolic, Enzyme and Process Engineering of Isoprenoids
Enabling Technologies to Advance Microbial Isoprenoid Production
Yun Chen, Yongjin J. Zhou, Verena Siewers and Jens Nielsen
Metabolic Engineering of Higher Plants and Algae for Isoprenoid Production
Chase Kempinski, Zuodong Jiang, Stephen Bell and Joe Chappell
Advances in the Analysis of Volatile Isoprenoid Metabolites
Matthias Wüst
Terpene Hydroxylation with Microbial Cytochrome P450 Monooxygenases
Simon Janocha, Daniela Schmitz and Rita Bernhardt
Bioprocess Engineering for Microbial Synthesis and Conversion of Isoprenoids
Hendrik Schewe, Marco Antonio Mirata and Jens Schrader
Part III From Biosynthesis to Biotechnological Production of Selected Isoprenoids Isoprene
Claudia E. Vickers and Suriana Sabri
Biosynthesis and Biotechnology of High-Value p-Menthane Monoterpenes, Including Menthol, Carvone, and Limonene
Bernd Markus Lange
Isoprenoid Drugs, Biofuels, and Chemicals—Artemisinin, Farnesene, and Beyond
Kevin W. George, Jorge Alonso-Gutierrez, Jay D. Keasling and Taek Soon Lee
Nootkatone
Robin-Hagen Leonhardt and Ralf G. Berger
Current and Emerging Options for Taxol Production
Yi Li, Guojian Zhang and Blaine A. Pfeifer
Enzymes for Synthetic Biology of Ambroxide-Related Diterpenoid Fragrance Compounds
Philipp Zerbe and Jörg Bohlmann
Carotenoids of Biotechnological Importance
Gerhard Sandmann
Erratum to: Isoprenoid Drugs, Biofuels, and Chemicals—Artemisinin, Farnesene, and Beyond
Kevin W. George, Jorge Alonso-Gutierrez, Jay D. Keasling and Taek Soon Lee